The Bicycle Spy

This was my teenage son’s first favorite book as a second grader. Fast forward to my youngest son and I knew he needed to read it too. A great WWII story appropriate for a younger age. Highly recommend!

My soon to be fifth grader read this he enjoys reading about World War II and he is a sports lover. This opened up a whole New World of another sport and another country that he is now interested in it’s amazing. What is inside of a book. We enjoyed watching the Tour de France 2024 after reading this book.

My fifth grade library patrons will love this 2018-2019 Texas Bluebonnet Award nominee! Author Yona McDonough has written a fast-paced WWII historical fiction work that puts a middle school aged boy, Marcel, in the center of the French Resistance, riding his bicycle to deliver messages and ultimately to try and save a friend. She also includes a short summary of the war, a timeline and a glossary of key words at the end that provides important information in an age-appropriate way. “The Bicycle Spy” is highly recommended for as young as 4th grade and possibly as high as 8th, but is likely best suited for 5th and 6th grade readers.

From first page, I was drawn into the story of Marcel and his friend Delphine. Author Yona Zeldis McDonough artfully tells the story of how Marcel becomes an upstander for his young Jewish friend and her family during the Holocaust. The main characters are authentic and endearing. I read this to make sure it was age-appropriate for my 8-year-old son, who has become interested in reading stories from this time period. I highly recommend it as a wonderful, sensitive read for parents and children alike. It is not gory or too traumatic for a child to read, yet it also educates children about the importance of standing up for those often seen as the 'other,' whether they are Jews, Muslims, African-Americans or another group. This book is particularly timely now.

A very interesting read, and a great present!

Interesting, age appropriate WWII story. There were a few sections that could have been more concise but overall my kids (8&11 yo)enjoyed it. It also opened some really interesting and important conversations.

I bought this a 10-year old boy, who is an avid reader and interested in history and historical fiction, but i'm reading it, too, as an adult familiar with this period of persecution during WWII, and find it completely engrossing. It's an important story and beautifully told. We are both loving it.

This was a reading project for school. I enjoyed this book with my daughter. I would recommend to anyone who enjoys a good story.